DoD brass ignores Ada promotional opportunity

DoD brass ignores Ada promotional opportunity

[Gregory Aharonian]

    Once again.  ADA IS EASY TO SPELL, EASY TO TYPE, EASY TO SAY, EASY TO USE.
Why is it then that DoD types find it soooo hard to use the word, except when
they are forced to at porkpoint?

    Case in point.  On December 13 and 14, the American Defense Preparedness
Assocation is holding the:

                        Corporate Information Management
                                      and
                             Enterprise Integration
                                   Symposium

at the Hyatt Regency Reston. "CIM has been identified as a key factor in
unifying tactical and administrative systems that underpin DoD operations.
The DoD points out the information revolution is giving the "warfighting
commander an integrated picture of battlespace, so he can control the pace
and outcome of battle.  It gives the manager critical insight into current
performance and best practice so processes can be eliminated, improved and
reengineered.  It creates a new, more responsive and cost-effective
relationship between the DoD and industry through the application of
enabling technologies".

Sounds like a perfect symposium to prominently mention Ada's role in CIM
and EI, especially as some of the great lovers of Ada are speakers.  I mean
love of Ada shouldn't be restricted to expression just at Tri-Ada and STSC,
it should be everywhere in the DoD. Let's see confirmation of this consistency
of love by looking at the agenda:

	Dec 13

	 8:45- 9:45   Keynote Presentation: Vision for CIM and EI
		      Emmett Paige, Ass.Sec.Def.

	 9:45-10:15   CIM Strategic Plan
		      Cynthia Kendall, Dep.Ass.Sec.Def

	10:45-11:15   Overall Assessment of CIM-EI: Top-Down View of Out
		      Progress in Achieving Goals
		      Albert Edmonds, Director DISA

	11:15-11:35   Enterprise Integration: Steps in Implementing Our Goals
		      Michael Mestrovich, Dep.Director DISA

	11:35-12:00   CIM-Systems Engineering for Migration Systems
		      John Gauss, Dep. Director DISA

	Luncheon Seminar
		      Noel Longuemare, Dep.Under.Sec.Def.

	 1:30- 3:30   Panel: DoD Functional Leaders Report Achievements in
	 	      Business Process Re-Engineering, Migration Selection
		      and Data Standardization
		      Logistics: James Klugh, Dep.Under.Sec.Def - Logistics
		      Financial: John Hamre, Under.Sec.Def - Comptroller
		      Health:    Steven Jospeh, Ass.Sec.Def - Health Affairs
		      Personnel: Edwin Dorn, Under.Sec.Def - Personnel

	 3:30- 5:30   Selected Leads Services Report Status of Implementations
	 	      of Migration Selected Functions
		      ARMY:  MG Otto Guenther, Dir.Info.Sys.C4
		      NAVY:  VADM Walter Davis, Dir.Warfare Systems Arch.
		      AF:    LTG Carl O'Berry, Dep. Chief of Staff, C4
		      MARINE:  MG Paul Van Riper, Ass. Chief of Staff, C4I


	Dec 14

	 9:15-10:30   DoD Policy, Technical Standards and Joint
	 	      Interoperability Initiatives Panel:

		      DoD Software Initiatives - John Burt, Dir. TSEE-OUSD
		      Software Center for Excellence and Data Administration
		      			Belkis Leong-Hong, Dep.Com JIEO-DISA
		      Communication & Hardware Technology - BG Frederick Essig
		      Security - Barbara Valeri - Dir.Info.Sys.Sec C3I - OSD


	11:00-12:00   Industry Implementation/Lessons Learned Panel:
		      Parallel in Enterprise Integration forced on industry
		      by world class competition: CIM, TQE, CIE.
		      Boeing - Peter Dube
		      Martin Marietta - Joseph Cleveland
		      GTE - Francis Gicca
		      EDS - S.J. Hyduk

	Luncheon Seminar
		      Paul Strassman - Former CIM Director - Ernest & Young

	 2:30- 4:30   Congressional Panel: Perspective, Concerns, Viability
	 	      Joseph Kimmitt - Sen. Subcom. on Defense Appropriation
		      Stephen Rossetti - House Armed Services Committee
		      Charles Wheeler - Government Operations Committee

	 4:00- 4:30   Wrap-up: Results / Successes vs Expectations/ Goals
	 	      Cynthia Rand - Dir. for Information Mgmt - OSD

                              ====================


    ONCE AGAIN, WHERE THE HELL IS ADA??????   If Ada is soooooo important to
DoD operations that we need the federal law of the Ada Mandate, then why 
can't all these bigwigs make sure that Ada gets prominence in symposiums like
this?  I am sure all of the DISA types must have seen a preliminary agenda
ahead of time - didn't it occur to any of them to say "gee, how about giving
Ada a little prominence in the symposium if you want us to all show up?".
Is there no coordination of Ada policy going on?

    Why isn't there at least one session with Ada in the title, like
"The role of Ada in successful CIM & EI"?  I mean if everything new has to
be done in Ada, and CIM & EI are new, then such a session should be given.
Sure many of the topics here deal with computer concerns above the level of
programming, and sure some of these people actually might mention Ada in their
talks (maybe Burt & Leong-Hong), but too many of these people have pledged
their hearts and souls to Ada for them not to demand that part of this forum
be used for pressing the case for Ada, with Ada prominently mentioned in the
agenda.  Ada, Ada, Ada, Ada.  Is that so hard to say?

    If the DoD is going to continue with the national security threat of the
Ada Mandate (i.e. anything that engenders hypocrisy is a threat), then the DoD
better start doing it more consistently, by both word and actions.  Every DoD
software related forum (especially those run by ARPA) should have Ada in the
title of at least one session, if not all - anything less sends out the SIGNAL
that the DoD just isn't serious about Ada.

    And Paul Strassman should be banned from any DoD software forum.  Rarely,
if at all, since he has left the Pentagon, has he mentioned Ada in the many
articles and interviews he gives (much like IBM, now that they are no longer
troughing for Ada dollars).  I am tired of all of these DoD types who love
Ada while in the Mandated world, and then instantly forget about Ada the
minute they switch to the real world.  Strassman is probably the one on the
Army Science Board supporting Army attempts to create object oriented
programming languages (which with Ada9X seems a waste of Army money, but
maybe they are jealous of the Air Force's non-Ada KBSA waste).

    I hope someone from TeamAda can afford to go to this symposium and make
a count of mentions of "Ada" in each person's speech.

Greg Aharonian

Re: DoD brass ignores Ada promotional opportunity

[David Weller]

Once again violating my policy of not responding to a GA post....

In article <CzMDzx.5ww@world.std.com>,
Gregory Aharonian <srctran@world.std.com> wrote:
>    ONCE AGAIN, WHERE THE HELL IS ADA??????   

	Prego.


-- 
Proud (and vocal) member of Team Ada! (and Team OS/2)        ||This is not your
   	      Ada -- Very Cool.  Doesn't Suck.               ||  father's Ada 
For all sorts of interesting Ada tidbits, run the command:   ||________________
"finger dweller@starbase.neosoft.com | more" (or e-mail with "finger" as subj.)
      Just another dull, stodgy, non-creative developer who uses Ada.

Re: DoD brass ignores Ada promotional opportunity

[Herndon Elliott]

In article 5ww@world.std.com, srctran@world.std.com (Gregory Aharonian)
writes:
>
>    Once again.  ADA IS EASY TO SPELL, EASY TO TYPE, EASY TO SAY, EASY TO
USE.
>Why is it then that DoD types find it soooo hard to use the word, except
when
>they are forced to at porkpoint?

You can read or ignore the original - I wont waste the electrons to repeat
it...

        Yeah, I know, everybody seems to like to blast Greg A. for these kinds
of posts, but I for one think he is right.  As a taxpayer, as well as one
that is involved in software development in the Government, I hate to see
what is happening in the Ada world.  I see the language slipping into
obscurity.  IBM has handed off their Ada "involvement" to another firm,
Tartan has announced its stepping into the world of C, Ada companies are
scrambling to stay afloat in a sea that seems to be drying up rapidly.  From
my point of view, there is an increasing probability that all the government
money that has been put into Ada stands a very significant chance of
becoming sunk costs that are written off as a loss.  From a taxpayers POV,
this sux.  From a government software weenie's POV, I feel the potential for
another failed government program looming on the horizon, and this one may
even cause me to appear as though I have blood on my hands, since I have
done my part to force compliance with the mandate in my little corner of the
world.

        Greg, as Buffalo Springfield said "For what it is worth", keep it up.
Fan the flames (or are they just coals?).  Besides, where else can I go to
read such wonderful metaphors as "forced at porkpoint"?

Thanks,
Doc Elliott KE4KUZ
LOSAT Computer Engineer
INTERNET:  helliott@losat.redstone.army.mil
205-842-8086
The opinions expressed herein are mine, and do not
constitute an official government position, unless
specifically stated as such.

Re: DoD brass ignores Ada promotional opportunity

[Garlington KE]

Herndon Elliott (HElliott@LOSAT.REDSTONE.ARMY.MIL) wrote:

: I see the language slipping into
: obscurity.  IBM has handed off their Ada "involvement" to another firm,
: Tartan has announced its stepping into the world of C...

Hey, at least Tartan is delivering their entry into the Ada 9X market
this month. DEC on the other hand has exited the market altogether.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Ken Garlington                  GarlingtonKE@lfwc.lockheed.com
F-22 Computer Resources         Lockheed Fort Worth Co.

If LFWC or the F-22 program has any opinions, they aren't telling me.